It may be difficult for some to find the tragedy in this story, but the makers of the premiere heart-shaped “conversation” candies won’t be delivering the sugary Valentines Day messages in 2019, which means people will have to find some other way to say “be mine,” “miss you,” or “marry me.” May we suggest you pour out your affection in person, with feeling?
And, the makers of Sweethearts suggest, if you happened to score Valentine’s Day boxes of the candies this year, you should throw them out because they’re leftover love and candy like this doesn’t age well. (And, lovers, if you really care, can’t you do better?)
Sales of the candies are down an estimated 80 percent, which depending on how you look at this development, is worthy of a sad-faced emoticon — an appropriate shorthand for your feelings given that Sweethearts are kind of a forerunner of electronic emoticons — or a sign that society isn’t quite as hopeless as you thought.
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If it’s the latter, don’t get too smug. This is basic supply-and-demand economics, and Sweethearts will be back in 2020. The New England Confectionery Company, or Necco, annually pressed out about 8 million Sweethearts, as well as similar brand known as Love Hearts sold in the U.K. before its bankruptcy last year. Spangler Candy Company acquired the rights to the candy last September, but with only five months before Valentine’s Day, it didn’t have the wherewithal to meet what has been a 19 million-pound annual demand for the sentimental candies.
It took Necco 11 months to produce 8 billion conversation hearts every year, which are sold in the six weeks before Valentine’s Day. To get to that number, Necco turned out 100,000 pounds of Sweethearts a day. The plant where they were made closed in July 2018, and while it wasn’t as harsh as, for example, being handed a heart-shaped candy with “we’re breaking up” stamped into the face, workers were told not to report to work the next day
When Necco was in bankruptcy talks, panicked Sweethearts aficionados — let that sink in — bought up all the candies they could, sending sales soaring by 50 percent and wiping up most of the remaining stock. However, those determined to hand out Sweethearts this Valentine’s Day can still find them if they’re willing to shell out some coin. A 36-count box of Sweethearts Conversation Hearts costs $32.95 on Amazon — but remember, they’re expired lots.
All this vexing /not vexing news comes via CandyStore.com, which sells inexpensive candies in a variety of flavors and textures in bulk quantities for holidays and special occasions. Granted, CandyStore never billed itself as a fine chocolatier or confectionery — or even on par with your local grocery store, where you can pick up some decent chocolate-dipped strawberries — but the fact that SweetHearts have reigned as the Valentine’s Day candy royalty has to say something about the other entries in the most popular candy pool.
There are some imitations out there, CandyStore.com says, but Sweethearts, which have been part of Valentine’s Day traditions for more than 100 years.
(AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)